Alarm device



July 1'5 1924. 1,501,260

D. A. ALEXANDER ALARM DEVICE Original Filed Feb. 2. 1923 `2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F u; l?-

INVENToR. /Zlzanc/er- ATTORNEY Juy l5 1924. V

D. A. ALEXANDER ALARM DEVICE original Filed Feb. 2. 2 streams-snee: 2

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WWW/171 IN V EN TOR.

fm a u w M Patented JulyA 15, 1924.

lDAVID A. ALEXANDER, or ROCHESTER, NEW Yonai.

Y ALARM DEVICE.

Application iled February-2, 1923, Serial No. 616,580.v Renewed November 27, 1923.

T 0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID A. ALEXANDER, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Rochester, in the countyjpof, Monroe Aand State of New York, have invented l'a new and Improved AlarmDevice, of which the following is a specification.

My .'nvention relates more particularly to that class'V of alarm devices in which fluid under pressure is the motive' force for operating a gong striking member such, for instance, as water motor alarms used in connection with automaticY sprinklersystems, although I do not limit the invention to an alarm device for this purpose only as it will readily beunderstood from the yfollowing` description and accompanyingdrawings that an alarm device constructed in accordancek withthe invention may be equally adaptablerfor use on street cars or automobiles, in'wliich event compressed air or 'enhaust gases from 'an explosive engine would be used as the motiveforce.'v Y, f

l/Vater motor alarms used-- in connection with automatic sprinkler systems, and the type now in general use', consists of a water wheel encased in a housing, an operating shaft, bearings and a stuffing box, a universaljoint to overcome discrepancies in alignment fbetweenjthe vwater wheel and gong, an outer sleeve enclosingv the operating shaft,.such shaft extending through a building wall, a gong, striker arms on said shaft,

hammers on the striker arms, and a housing for the gong together with other essentially necessary parts. Past experience has proven that water motor alarms such as just above described often fail in operation, after long periods of inaction, owing to corrosion of parts, and also fail in operation because of the liability of erecting the motor and gong out of alignment and of the tendency of such parts to get out of alignment through settling of the building wall. This type of alarm is also expensive to manufacture and install.

An object of this invention is to provide a watermotorl alarm to be used in connection with automaticA sprinkler 'systems which will be extremely simple in construction, of few parts, positive of operation at all times and under any and all conditions, bejsides being inexpensive to manufacture and install. n

Another object of the invention is to pro'- vide a water motor alarm that will be equally effective whether lmounted, on the outside or inside `of a buildingwall.

Another object ofthe invention is to pro- `vide an alarm device of the character described employing ay gong and in which the motor mechanism is enclosed by the gong.

Another. object of the invention isy to provide an alarm` device havingbutfv one movable'part.

further object of Vthe'invention is to provide an alarm,` device in which motor mechanismv comprises la tubular member bent into-approximately circular form and having a striking member in the form of a ball adapted to continuously circulate .through the tubular member by the `action of fluid under pressure injected into the tubular member.

-And, a still further object ofthe iiivenytion is to provide in' an alarm device a sounding member in the'form of a steel ,tube bent approximately in lcircular form with the ends'ofthe tube separated, and a striking member comprising a ball adapted to continuously circulate through the tubular member by the' action of fluid under pressure injected into the tube.

To these and other ends the invention consists of certain parts and combinations of parts all of vwhich will be fully brought "out in the following description and particularly deiined in the appended claims.

The accompanying drawings illustrating the invention are as follows Figures l and 2 are side and face views, respectively,v with parts broken away, of a water motor gong made in accordance with my invention and adapted for use in connection kwith 'automatic sprinkler systems.

Fig. 3 is a part sideviewand part vertical sectional view of a` water motor gong in which the motor mechanism is mounted in- ',side the gong, and showing the gong on the on the stud bymeans `of a cap nut 8. The

bore in the cylinder' or tubular flange 5 is continuous and although approximately a circle it really has two angularly disposed portions andv11 tangential to a circular yportion 9. Substantially diametricallybpposite the juncture of the angular portions 10 and 11 of the bore the cylinder wall is cut away as atf12 to receive ahperipheral portion of the ygong 3, in the manner clearly indicated. In line with the tangential portion 10 of the bore is a restricted opening 13 in the cylinder wall having communication with a nipple 14 threaded into the wall and which in turn has threaded connectiony with an inlet pipe 15 leading from the water supply pipe at a point labove the automatically operable valve for controlling the admission of water into a sprinkler system. The cylinder Wall along the tangential portion 11 and that part of the curved portion 9 beyond the opening 12, with respect to the inlet 13, is provided with a discharge in the form of a plurality of lateral openings 16. The striking member is a ball 17 normally lying against the inlet opening 13 and adapted by the force of water under pressure entering'k the-cylinder through the opening 13 to be shot along the tangential portion 10, around the curved portion9 and to return through the tangential portion 11, to its .starting point. So long as the water is entering the cylinderthe travel of the ball 17 Will be lcontinuous and each time it passes the wall opening 12 will strike the periphery of the gongl owing to the tendency of the ball in traversing the circular portion to leave the curve on a straight line tangent to thecurve, this being a fixed law of motion. The water in the cylinder will escape some through the opening 12 but mostly through the discharge openings 1.6, and the action of the water jet from the inlet opening 13 will tend to effect `a suction inthe cylinder por-- tion 11 so that the ball is drawn into the path of the jet. In Fig. 2 a plurality of balls 17 are shown but practice has demonstrated vthat one ball is suflicient and that it will hit the gong forceful blows with trip hammer rapidity.

The gong and the motor mechanism are enclosed by a'housing comprising two members 18 and 19 formed with flanges 2O and 21, respectively, which abut the `marginal edge of the supporting plate 1 and are secured thereto by screws .22. The upper housing member 18 has its front wall offset at 18a so as to overhang the front upper edge of themember 19 and provide a sound opening. Tater discharged from the cylinder -cescapes from the housing through a drain pipe 19a.

In the modification of the invention shown in Figs 3, 4 and 5, the supporting plate 1 is secured to the inner face of a building wall 23 and has openings 24 opposed to an opening 25 in thewall, such latteropening preferably being closed on the exterior of the wall by any suitable screen covering 26. This plate l'nl carries a stud 2a on which a circular gong 3a is mounted in a manner similar to the gong 3 on the stud 2, while the motor mechanism ishcovered by the gong and the ball striking member 17a is adapted to engage a projection 27 formed on the inner periphery of the gong.

The motor mechanism, in this instance, comprises a casting mounted on a stud 71 and formed by a tubular portion 28 having an approximately circular path of travel for the ball 17, such tubular portion being integral with a double web or spaced plates 29. The return bend of the tubular wall has the portion thereof between the plates 29 cut away so as to discharge the water after passing the opening 12EL into a chamber 30 between the plates 29 and fromthis chamber the water escapes through a pipe 31 and is directed into a drain pipe 32 leading from a housing 33 which, in this instance, isa one piece member secured to the supporting plate 1a in the same manner as the housing meinbers 18 and 19 are secured to the plate 1. The cylinder is provided with an inlet opening 13'C1 and an inlet connection 15a as and for the same purpose as the inlet connection shown in Fig. 2.

In Fig. 6 there is shown a modification of the invention adaptable for an alarm device on vehicles such as street cars or automobiles. The numeral 3e represents a sounding member in the form of a tubular chime bent to approximatena circle but really having a curved portion 9a and two short angular disposed portions 10L and 11*l tangential to the'curved portion, the ends of the tube lying in the line of the portion 11n and being slightly spaced apart to provide a discharge opening for the fluid under pressure and to permit a vibration of the tube when the ball 17 1 strikes the wall of the tube at the points X. lith this modification compressed air would likely be used as the motive force although exhaust gases from an explosive engine may be employed. An inlet for the motive fluid is indicatedat 13b which communicates through the nipple connection 14h with a fluid supply pipe 15b, if desired a valve 35 lbeing located in the pipe line to defiect fiuid through the lateral connection 14h. The continuous circulating action of the ball 17b in this instance Will be the same as in the modifications shown in Figs. 2 andr 5. The tubular member 34 may be formed with an attaching plate or projection 36 for securing it to a fixed part of a vehicle indicated at 37.

It is believed that from the above description the construction and operation of the alarm dev-ice is suiiiciently clear to call for no further explanation.

What I claim is:

1. In an alarm device, a piston comprising a striking member, a cylinder having an approximately circular path of travel for the striking member, sounding means projecting into the path of the striking member, an inlet to the cylinder for iiuid under pressure, and a discharge opening in the cylinder Wall.

2. In an alarm device, a piston comprising a striking member, a cylinder having a bore formed With a circular portion and tWo angular portions tangential to the circular portion, such bore comprising an endless path of travel for the striking member, sounding means projecting into the path of the striking member, an inlet to the cylinder for fluid under pressure, and a discharge opening in the cylinder Wall.

8. In an alarm device, a striking member, a cylinder having an approximately circular path of travel for the striking member and an opening in the cylinder Wall, an inlet to the cylinder =for fluid under pressure, a sounding device in the path of the striking memberas it passes the said opening, and an exhaust opening in the cylinder Wall.

4. In an alarm device, a striking member, a cylinder having an approximately circular path of travel for the striking member and an opening in the cylinder Wall, an inlet to the cylinder for fluid under pressure, a circular gong having a periphery adapted to be engaged by the striking member as the latter passes the said opening, and an exhaust opening in the cylinder Wall beyond the said first named opening.

5. In an alarm device, a tubular member formed into an approximate circle and having an opening in the Wall thereof, a ball in said tube, an inlet in said tube for fluid under pressure and having a restricted opening, sounding means adjacent said Wall opening adapted to be struck by the ball as it passes the said opening, and a discharge opening in the tube beyond the said Wall opening and of greater area than said inlet.

6. In an alarm device, a supporting plate, a striking member, a cylinder mounted on said plate and having an approximately circular path of travel for said striking member and an opening in the cylinder Wall, a gong mounted on said plate having a periphery adapted to be engaged by the striking member as the latter passes the said opening, an inlet to the cylinder for Huid under pressure, an outlet from the cylinder beyond the said opening, a housing for the gong and cylinder, and a drain leading from the housing. A

7. In an alarm device, a supporting plate, a stud carried by said plate, a plate mounted on said stud and an approximately circular tubular flange formed on such plate, a ball in said tube, an inlet in said tube having a restricted opening for fluid under pressure and an opening in the tubular Wall, a gong mounted on said supporting plate having a periphery adapted to be engaged by the ball as the latter passes the said Wall opening, an outlet from the tube beyond the said Wall opening of greater area than said inlet opening, a housing for the gong and the tubular flanged plate, and a drain leading from the housing.

8. In an alarm device, a supporting plate, a tubular member mounted on the plate and formed into an approximate circle, such member having anopening in the Wall thereof, a ball in said tube, an inlet in the tube for fluid under pressure and an outlet in the tube beyond the said Wall opening, a gong mounted on the vsupporting plate to cover the tubular member, means on a periphery of said gong adapted to be engaged by the ball as it passes the said Wall opening, a housing for the gong, and a drain leading from the housing.

9. In combination with a building Wall having an opening therethrough, a supporting plate on the inner face of the Wall having an opening Within the area of said Wall opening, a tubular member mounted on said plate, such member having an opening in the Wall thereof, an inlet in said tubular member for fluid under pressure, a ball in said tube, an outlet in the tube beyond the said Wall opening, sounding means adjacent the said Wall opening adapted to be engaged by the ball as the latter passes said opening, a housing for the gong and sounding means, and a drain leading from the housing.

lO. In an alarm device, an approximately circular cylinder having an inlet and a discharge opening, a spherical piston comprising a striking member adapted to continuously circulate through the cylinder by the action of fluid under pressure injected into the cylinder through the said inlet, and sounding means projecting into the path of the striking member.

DAVID A. ALEXANDER. 

